Banana Bread/Muffins

Banana Muffins

3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups butter, softened
2 1/4 cups banana, mashed (around 3 large)
3 eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
3 cups flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 cup nuts, optional

Cream together butter and sugars. Add bananas, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and mix. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Bake in greased muffin tin at 350 for 16-18 minutes. Mini loaves will take longer, about 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. This will make 24 muffins or 8 mini loaves.

oatmeal muffins

Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup oats
1 cup buttermilk

Mix these together and then add:

1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg

mix again and then add:

1 cup flour or whole wheat flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder

mix until combined. Pour into greased or lined muffin tin. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins

Creamy Chicken Taco Soup

Creamy Chicken Taco Soup

½ cup diced onions
½ cup diced green bell pepper
1 T minced garlic
vegetable oil
1 pound chicken breasts cooked and shredded
1 package taco seasoning
1 (14 oz) can corn
1 (16 oz) can pinto beans
2 (4 oz) cans tomato paste
2 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
Garnishes:
Avocado
Shredded cheese
Chips
Saute onions, bell pepper, and garlic in a small amount of vegetable oil. Add chicken, taco seasoning, corn, beans, tomato paste, and chicken broth. Adjust liquid to your liking. Bring to a slow simmer and simmer for 20 minutes. Place cream cheese in a separate bowl and spoon hot liquid over cream cheese to melt it and then add it back into soup. Simmer on low for another 10 minutes. Serve with tortilla chip, shredded cheddar cheese and avocado. Also great the next day over rice.

Peanut Butter Choc Cake

Peanut Butter Fudge Cake

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter

1/4 cup cocoa (I use dutch )

1 cup water

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

chocolate frosting

Combine first 3 ingredients in large bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stir in cocoa. Add water, buttermilk, add eggs, stirring well. Cook stirring well until mixture boils. Remove from heat, add to flour mixture and stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully spread peanut butter ( I heated it in the microwave for a minute to soften it) over warm cake. Cool completely. Spread with chocolate frosting. Cut into squares. 20-25 servings.

Chocolate Frosting

1 (16oz) package powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa (I use dutch)

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Bring cocoa, butter and buttermilk to a boil in a small saucapn over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour hot mixture into a bowl with the sugar, stirring until smooth. stir in vanilla.

Granola

Granola

6 cups oates
¾ cup wheat germ
½ cup brown sugar
2/3 cup oil
1 T cinnamon
2/3 cup honey
2 t vanilla
2 T water
½ cup dry milk
1 cup coconut
1 cup slivered almonds
1/2 t salt
Mix all ingredients together. Spread on large, lightly greased cookie sheet, press down if you like chunky granola and bake at 300’ for 25 minutes. Let cool and mix in any dried fruit, if desired. This is enough to put on two large cookie sheets, I usually half this.

chicken tacos & tortillas!

Tortillas

4 cups flour
2 t salt
1/2 cup crisco
1 1/2 cups luke warm water

Mix the flour and salt together and then cut in the crisco. The water is the tricky part, I usually put 1 1/2 cups in but this will change depending on how humid it is where you are. The dough should be soft, kinda likeplaydough but not sticky. It should clean the bowl but not break at the edges when you knead it. I do big batches in my bosh and it is awesome, but by hand works just fine. You should knead it until it is smooth and well combined about 50 times. Now break the dough into 16 balls (that is how many tortillas this will make) and put into a covered bowl for at least 15 minutes. I like mine to sit for about 1 hour. Roll them out to desired thickness, I make mine taco size. I then let them rest for about 10 minutes. Cook on a cast iron skillet for best results. Cook on one side until bubbles form, about 30 seconds. They should look like this:
If they don't try letting your tortillas rest a little longer. Once the bubbles form turn over and cook other side. Place cooked tortillas in a coveredcontainer like a tortilla warmer or a frying pan with a lid. This keeps them soft. If you are going to refrigerate or freeze them put them in a plastic bag and leave vented until they have cooled completely otherwise the condensation will make them mushy.



Chicken

3-4 frozen chicken breasts
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
garlic salt to taste
(this will be mild for more heat add some crushed red pepper)

Place chicken in crockpot. Mix the next 3 ingredients in a bowl and pour over chicken. Cook on high for 4-6 hours. Shred chicken and add garlic salt. When you shred the chicken it soaks up a lot of the juice but I still used a slotted spoon to serve my chicken. Serve chicken in warm tortillas with all the fixings. We use cheese, sour cream, guacamole, cilantro, lettuce, and tomato.

chicken corn chowder

Chicken and Corn Chowder with Sweet Potatoes

3 cups whole milk
1 cup yellow corn muffin mix
2 T. butter
1 onion, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
2 quarts chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 " cubes
2 sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
3 cups frozen corn (not thawed)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix milk and muffin mix in bowl until well combined. Meanwhile, heat butter in large pot over medium heat until foaming. Add onion and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth, chicken and sweet potatoes. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer until sweet potatoes are just tender, about 8 minutes.
Stir in milk and muffin mixture and simmer until soup thickens, about 10 minutes. Add cheese and corn and cook until cheese begins to melt, about 2 minutes. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Choc Dipped Strawberries

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Strawberries, washed and dried
favorite chocolate chips (about 1 bag to 30 strawberries, I use Ghiradelli milk chocolate)
about 1 teaspoon oil to 1 cup chocolate chips (the chips just need be coated)

Heat the chocolate chips and oil in a pan over low heat. Stir until just melted. The chocolate will barely be warm. you don't want to cook the chocolate or it gets lumpy. Once chocolate is melted remove from heat and dip strawberries in it. Place them on wax paper on a cookie sheet and then chill until chocolate hardens. I then melted a little white chocolate with oil the same way and drizzled it over the strawberries with chocolate already hardened on them. I added a little food coloring to make the white chocolate pink. You can also do these with dark and milk chocolate.

Peanut Butter Choc Rice Crispie Treats

Hancock Rice Crispie Treats

1 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups rice crispies
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Cook sugar and corn syrup until almost boiling. Remove from heat and add peanut butter. Mix well. Stir in rice crispies and stir until combined. Spread and press into a greased 9x13 pan. Melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips together and spread over the top. Let cool until chocolate hardens.

Coconut Choc Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies
(Adapted from Nestle Toll House)

1 stick plus 2 T butter, softened
2 T coconut oil
3/4 C Brown sugar
1/3 C sugar
1 t vanilla
1 large egg
1/2 t salt
3/4 t baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1 & 2/3 C flour
1 cup toasted coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 & 3/4 C chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350. Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla until creamy. Add egg and mix again. Add baking soda and powder, salt and flour. Stir in chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts. Drop by spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Makes about 2 & 1/2 dozen.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Honey Whole Wheat Bread
(2 loaves)

1 1/2 T yeast
2 1/2 C warm water
1/2 C powdered milk
2 T sugar
1 T salt
1/4 C oil
1/2 C honey
2 1/2 C all purpose flour
5 C whole wheat flour
3 T Wheat Gluten (optional)*

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Combine sugar, oil, salt and honey in a seperate bowl and add to yeast water. Next add powdered milk. Add the all purpose flour and mix until smooth. Slowly add whole wheat flour until blended. Add Wheat gluten with flour. Kneed until smooth. Let rise until double about 1 1/4 hours. Knock down and shape into loaves. Put loaves into greased pans and let rise until double. Bake at 350' for 35 to 40 minutes.

*If you grind your own wheat you don't need the gluten. Also if you use soft white wheat berries and grind it to flour you can use all whole wheat.

Red Potatoes with Rosemary

Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary

Cut as many red potatoes as you want into quarters, smaller if they are big. They should be about bite size. Toss them with some extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with dried rosemary, salt and pepper. Put them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and put them in your oven on broil. Stir them every couple of minutes so they don't stick and they turn brown on every side. They usually take about 15-20 minutes in my oven. About half way through, I add sliced onion. These cook much faster than the potatoes. These are great as a side to anything BBQ.

Margarita Pizza....

Margherita Pizza
Pizza Dough

Starter

1 cup bread flour
1/2 T yeast
1 cup warm water
1 T sugar or honey

Mix all the ingredients together and let them sit for at least 3 hours, then add...

3 Cups bread flour
1 cup warm water
1/2 T yeast
2 egg whites
2 T olive oil
2 t salt

Toppings

olive oil
garlic
mozzarella cheese
fresh tomatoes, sliced
fresh basil, sliced

Mix the dough for 7 minutes in a kitchen aid or Bosch, if you do it by hand, I don't know what to tell you, just knead away. The dough should be like soft play dough but not sticky, so adjust flour accordingly. Split the dough in half and let it rise on a floured surface, covered, for an hour or so. Each dough ball will make a large 8 slice pizza. If you want to make smaller pizzas divide the dough into smaller pieces. The crust turns out the best the less you handle it so instead of punching it down I just grab an edge with both hands and let the weight of the dough do the stretching. I slowly move my hands around the outside until it is the size I want it. Don't give into the temptation to roll the dough, this will make your dough more tough and it will shrink when you cook it. It doesn't need to be perfectly round because when you place it on your pan you can shape it. After your dough is on the pan, brush it with olive oil and spread minced garlic on it (I use about a tablespoon of garlic). Cook it just like this in a 500 degree oven until it no longer sticks to the pan but is NOT browned (about 3-5 minutes). Take it out of the oven and add mozzarella cheese, fresh tomato, and fresh basil. Continue cooking it for 8-10 more minutes until the crust is lightly browned and the cheese is melted.

Fudge!

Fudge

1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
2 sticks butter
4 c. sugar
1/8 t. salt
1 package of Ghiradelli's semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 jar marshmallow cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped nuts of your choice

Before you start cooking, put a bowl of ice water next to you. Put the first four ingredients into a large pot; cook and stir constantly on medium-high heat until it starts to boil. Turn the heat down to medium, and continue to stir and stir and stir. You want the mixture to reach the "soft ball" stage, which is where you drop a spoonful into that bowl of ice water and if the mixture holds together in a soft ball, then you're ready to move on. However, if it dissolves quickly then you've got to keep stirring. Once it is boiling, I think we continued to stir for about 6-8 minutes. Once it is at the soft ball stage remove from the heat and add chocolate chips and marshmallow cream. Mix until all is melted and combined. Last add vanilla and nuts and mix well. Pour fudge into a buttered 9x13 pan. Let it cool for a few minutes and then cover with plastic wrap until completely cooled. Cut it with a plastic knife, for some reason it works the best.

Peach Pie

Fresh Fruit Glace Pie
(adapted from Betty Crocker's cookbook)

One pie crust, cooked and cooled
5-6 cups fresh fruit
1 cup sugar
3 T corn starch
1/2 cup water
1/2 t vanilla
3 oz. cream cheese, softened

Puree enough fruit to make one cup. Mix sugar and corn starch in a sauce pan and slowly add water and pureed fruit. Cook over medium, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for one minute, add vanilla and then cool.
Beat cream cheese until smooth (I add just a spoonful of the warm fruit puree to make the cream cheese more spreadable). Spread on the bottom of the pie crust. This can be tricky, just go slow and don't worry if it breaks a little, no one will see the bottom of your pie. Now fill the pie with the rest of the fresh fruit. Pour the cooked fruit puree over the top. Refrigerate for 3 hour or until set.

Chicken Tikka Masala & Naan Bread

Chicken Tikka Masala

3-4 chicken breasts

1/2 c plain yogurt

6 Tb butter (divided)

cumin

coriander

kosher salt

1 1/2 c heavy cream

28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 large onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 in. chunk fresh ginger, peeled and minced

Garam Masala
sugar
2 c Basmati rice

optional:

fresh cilantro

chili peppers

turmeric

frozen peas

Start by seasoning the chicken breasts with Kosher salt. Next sprinkle them on both sides with coriander and cumin. Then coat the chicken with the plain yogurt. Set the chicken on a metal cooling rack over a foil-lined cookie sheet and place it about 10-12 inches below a broiler for 5-7 minutes on each side. It should have slightly blackened edges. Remove from oven.

Next dice the onion and saute with 2 Tb butter over med-high heat until slightly browned. As the onions cook, mince your garlic and ginger (1x2 inch peeled chunk). Add to onions with 1 Tb salt.

At this point add 3 Tb Garam Masala spice (you can look at your grocery store but we had to go to a specialty food store). If you like it hot, add a chili pepper or two. (We did about 1/2 a Serrano pepper and it tasted great. Our 18 month old even loved it!) Add the tomatoes and continue cooking and stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Add about 1 Tb sugar and allow this mixture to simmer on medium for 5 minutes.

To a rice cooker add 2 cups Basmati rice, 4 Tb butter, 1 tsp salt, 1 Tb ground turmeric and 4 c water. Cover, turn on your rice cooker and walk away. If you do not have a rice cooker, cook your rice as usual but make sure you use Basmati. (The turmeric adds a very subtle flavor - it's more about the vibrant yellow color it creates.)

After the Tikka Masala sauce has had a chance to simmer for a bit, add in the 1 1/2 c heavy cream. Now chop up your chicken breasts into chunks and add them into the sauce. A handful of chopped cilantro is a nice addition if you like cilantro. You can also throw some frozen peas into the cooked rice, give them a stir and allow the heat of the rice to cook the peas. It tastes great and gives another nice dash of color. Serve the rice with the Chicken Masala over the top. The Naan bread is a must, it just finishes the meal perfectly!

Naan Bread

14 ounces (about 2 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 egg

1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt

1/2 cup milk

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl by hand), stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and yeast.

In a small bowl, mix together the egg, yogurt, and milk. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir for about 1 minute, until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated into the wet ingredients.Increase machine speed to 2 (or by hand) and knead the dough until it is smooth and shiny.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover with a towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until the dough doubles in size, about an hour.

Put a baking stone or heavy baking sheet on the lowest rack of your oven. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees for at least 30 minutes prior to baking.

Divide the dough into eight pieces and form into teardrop shapes with your hands, about 6 to 8 inches across.

Cook two or three pieces at a time. Drop the dough onto the hot stone and shut the oven door, watching until they are just starting to turn brown in places, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove the naan and lay on a board. You can lightly brush with melted butter or garlic butter, or just enjoy them plain. We put some garlic powder and chopped fresh parsley in the melted butter.

Magic Cookies

Magic Cookie Bars

1 stick of butter, melted
1 package of graham crackers completely crushed (about 2 cups)

mix these together and press into the bottom of 9x13 pan
then top with...

1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chocolate chips or half butterscotch chips
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

layer in the above order and press lightly into graham cracker crust. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until edges are brown and the coconut looks a little toasted. Cool until set.

Artisan Bread

Artisan Bread
(Description borrowed from the Sister's Cafe)
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
1 5/8 cup water

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Fall Apart Roast

Fall Apart Roast

Chuck roast
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package lipton onion soup mix
garlic powder
salt and pepper

Salt and pepper the roast and put it in a crockpot. Spread the soup over the roast. Sprinkle the soup and garlic over the top. Put about an inch of water in the bottom of the crockpot. Cook on low for at least 12 hours.

Mint Brownies.....

Mint Brownies

Brownies

2 sticks butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
5 heaping T cocoa powder
1 t vanilla
1 cup + 2 T flour

Melt the butter. Add the sugar and eggs and beat together. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 1 hour, then frost with mint frosting...

Mint Frosting

5 T butter , softened
2 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1 T light corn syrup
3 T milk
1/2 t mint extract
dash of salt
green food coloring

Mix all together and spread over cooled brownies, let set. Then frost with chocolate frosting...

Chocolate Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 t vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk

Melt butter and stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium to spreading consistency. Add vanilla and mix well

Butternut Squash & Corn Chowder

Butternut Squash and Corn chowder

2 T vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks (about 5 cups)
1 medium onion, chopped
10 oz frozen corn, thawed
1 1/2 t curry powder
coarse salt and pepper
2 cans (14.5 oz each) vegetable broth
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a large heavy pot, heat oil over med-high heat. Add squash and onion. Cook until onion is soft, about 6 minutes. Add corn and curry powder and cook until curry is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add broth and simmer until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. In a blender, blend half of the soup until smooth. Return to pot and stir in cream. Heat through but do NOT let it boil.

Oatmeal Choc Chip Cookies!

{The Best} Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 c. room temperature butter (the real stuff, not margarine)
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/8 or 1/4 t. nutmeg (your preference)
1 t. baking soda
3 c. oats
12 oz. chocolate chips
1 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, sugars, egg and vanilla on low speed. Don't over mix - but make sure it's all blended well. Add the rest of the ingredients until mixed well.Spoon medium-sized cookies onto cookie sheet and bake for approximately 9 minutes. Cookies should be a little gooey and slightly browned around the edges. Let cool for a couple of minutes before taking them off of the pan.

Turkey MeatBall & Tomato Sauce

Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

1 small onion, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano (I didn't have this so I just doubled the Parmesan)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound ground dark turkey meat (I used ground turkey breast)
3 tablespoons olive oil
Simple Tomato Sauce, recipe follows, or store-bought marinara sauce

Directions

Add the onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, parsley, Parmesan, Pecorino, salt and pepper to a large bowl and blend. Mix in the turkey. Shape the turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a large plate or baking sheet.
Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Pour off any excess oil. Add to marinara sauce. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the flavors blend, 15 to 20 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Simple Tomato Sauce:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 t sugar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
4 to 6 basil leaves (I used dried)
fresh rosemary
fresh thyme
2 dried bay leaves

In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. Optional{Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.} I liked mine just how it was without smoothing it out.

Pumpkin Cake & CC

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 t baking powder
2 t cinnamon
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/4 t ground cloves
4 eggs, beaten
1-15 oz can pumpkin
1 cup oil

In a large bowl mix together dry ingredients. Stir in eggs, pumpkin and oil until combined. Spread batter into an UNGREASED 15x10 in pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 t vanilla
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cream together first 3 ingredients. Add two cups of powdered sugar, mix well. Add additional sugar, mix until creamy. (The frosting is thick, be careful when spreading it can pull off the top of the bars)

Apple Cider Muffins

Apple Cider Muffins


(adapted from Black Cat Kitchen)



Streusel:

2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar

4 tsp. whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces



Muffins:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 egg

1 t vanilla

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar (I used dark)

1/2 cup apple butter (I didn't have this, so I doubled the cider)

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup apple cider

1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt

1/4 cup canola oil



Preheat oven to 400. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray. (I actually got about 16 muffins)

Prepare streusel: Mix brown sugar, whole wheat flour, and cinnamon in small bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or your fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.



Prepare muffins: Whisk flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in large bowl.Whisk together egg and brown sugar in medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in apple butter, syrup, cider, yogurt and oil. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just combined. Scoop batter into muffin cups and sprinkle with streusel.

Bake until golden brown and tops spring back when touched lightly, 15-25 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then cool on wire rack before serving.

yummy yams




5 cups cooked and mashed yams (about 4 large)

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

4 T flour

2 cups chopped walnuts

1 cup brown sugar

5-6 T butter



Whip together yams, 1 cup butter, 1 cup sugar and 4 eggs. Put into a greased 9x13 pan. Melt 5-6 T butter and add flour, walnuts, and brown sugar. Sprinkle on top of yams. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Moist Pumpkin Spice Muffins with CC

Moist Pumpkin Spice Muffins (With Cream Cheese Frosting)

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• Muffin Ingredients:
• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• ½ cups Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1-½ teaspoon Cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Ginger
• ½ teaspoons Nutmeg
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 4 Tablespoons Butter - Cut Into Pieces
• 1 cup (heaping) Pumpkin Puree
• ½ cups Evaporated Milk
• 1 whole Egg
• 1-½ teaspoon Vanilla
• ½ cups Golden Raisins (optional!)
• _____
• Topping
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoons Nutmeg
• _____
• FOR FROSTING:
• ¼ cups Softened Butter
• 4 ounces, weight Cream Cheese
• ½ pounds Powdered Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Vanilla

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease 12 muffin tins.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in butter with two knives or a pastry blender until it is fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Add raisins. Fold gently until mixture is just combined.

Pour into a greased muffin pan—batter hardly ever fills all twelve unless you keep it down to 1/2 full. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar-nutmeg mixture over the top of each unbaked muffin.

Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool. Ice with cream cheese frosting.

To make the frosting, mix all ingredients on high until soft and whipped. Spread onto completely cooled muffins, or place into a large pastry bag with a large star tip and go crazy! Store in the fridge, as icing will soften at room temperature.